1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory card reader apparatus incorporated in a facsimile, a photocopier, or a multi-function printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a memory card reader apparatus is incorporated in an image reading apparatus or an image forming apparatus, a board having a memory card connector is desirably near to a card slot because the user often accesses the connector. Therefore, the board is attached to, for example, the outer part of an inner frame of the apparatus, an exterior cover of the apparatus, or a control-panel cover of the apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-082577). In order to prevent damage due to static electricity, the board is covered with a metal plate, or attached not to a plastic frame or cover of the apparatus but to a metal board-holder (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-085958).
In the case of machines such that personal preference has an influence on the choice at the point of purchase, for example, consumer machines, emphasis can be placed on the appearance (design). Normally, an exterior cover and a control panel of such machines are manufactured by plastic injection molding. Sink marks and burrs due to change of parameters (e.g., injection pressure) during molding have negative influence on the appearance. However, the parameters have influence also on accuracy of size and shape of the components. Especially in the case of a large component having a large amount of plastic, it is difficult to pursue both the accuracy of size and shape and a good appearance at the same time.
In an image reading apparatus reading a document or an image forming apparatus forming an image on a recording medium in accordance with recorded information, exterior components such as an exterior cover and a control panel are relatively large. In the case of such large exterior components, in order to reduce the cost and to shorten the development period and the production period, a structure that does not require very high accuracy is required. If this requirement is satisfied, the apparatus can be designed more flexibly. In a lot of conventional apparatuses, a card slot is formed in an exterior component (e.g., an exterior cover or a control panel), and a card board is attached to the exterior component, or to a part of an inner frame, or to another component attached to the inner frame.
Therefore, concerning the inside dimension of the exterior component having the card slot and the distance to the component to which the card board is attached, very high accuracy is required. If this is not satisfied, the position of the card slot does not correspond exactly with that of the card connector, and therefore a memory card cannot be smoothly inserted into the connector. If the memory card is forced into the connector, the connector and the memory card can be damaged.